Powerless
by Brief Insanity of Mine
Summary: You'll never know what I became because of you.
1. Prologue

Prologue

It wasn't like he'd meant it to get this late. He hadn't been keeping track of time, rather focusing on helping his grandpa around the shop. He didn't mind doing it, actually he quite liked feeling useful, and it made him feel as if he knew what he was doing, and would be able to cope on his own when such a time would arise. Though he didn't dwell on that thought, the feeling was always there in the back of his mind, brought forward by the wheezing he would sometimes hear when his grandpa had to pick up a heavy box full of games, or the small winces on his face when he would stand after being crouched for a few minutes.

But it was getting closer to the night and the kitchen cupboards and fridge was almost bare. They needed food and, because he was younger and quicker, Yuugi had decided to go out and buy them what they needed. He knew that he could wait until the morning, but he wanted to be able to get up and give his grandpa the breakfast he deserved without rushing to the shop early in the morning. It was understandable, right? Or maybe he was simply lazy.

He gave a small wave and exited the shop, walking quickly and swiftly along the pavement. His dark shoes tapped quietly on the concrete, studded belts decorating the leather and shining in the fading light. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket, bowing his head slightly as if that would make him go faster. His wide eyes watched his feet, their colour something that was rather rare – as was most of his appearance. But that's not what the focus of this story is about.

The supermarket was only a few minutes walk away, it wouldn't take him long to be inside the brightly lit building. He didn't think he'd ever be happy to be inside such a place, as normally he was bored to Hell with it, trying to get out of shopping as much as he could. The cold breeze that sifted through his hair and caressed his face, however, made him walk that bit faster, and enjoy the idea of standing in front of a bored-as-Hell woman scanning his items at the till.

Yuugi rounded a corner, not noticing where he was going, and ended up tripping over something he hadn't been aware of. His hands fought to come out of his pockets and his arms flailed as he tried to keep his balance, a yelp falling from his lips. His palms pressed against the cold brick wall of whatever building he was standing by and he managed to catch his breath and let his heart calm. Tripping in the night over unknown things was not something he thought was a good idea. It could be a dead body for all he knew.

"I'm sorry," he said automatically, turning to face whatever it was he had tripped over. He was slightly relieved to see that a man stood there, rather than an object. He would've looked mad if he'd been talking to a lone shoe or something equally as ridiculous.

The man didn't say anything, but shifted his head instead, as if trying to get a better look at the shorter of the two. Yuugi squinted, cursing the fact that the light from the street lamp didn't shine on his face, casting it in shadow. He could be in danger and he wouldn't even know it. What he could tell by the outline of the man's body was that his long, dark hair was pulled mostly from his face into a ponytail, though some strands fell across his cheek. He was tall and lean, not overly muscular. And, though the night was rather cold and the breeze kept brushing against Yuugi's face as a reminder that he should start moving again, the stranger was wearing a tank top and a sleeveless jacket.

The silence wasn't something he liked and he took a step back, not willing to take his eyes off of the man. He didn't know him, after all, or his intentions. He wasn't about to take any chances, either. He wasn't stupid. He knew well enough that men could be targeted for rape as much as women. Bullshit to those who didn't believe it.

When the dark-haired male took a step towards him, Yuugi took another backwards. The other still hadn't spoken, and it put him on edge. Why wasn't he speaking? Could he not speak? Was he trying to lure him into a trap or something? Every time Yuugi took a step back, the man would take a step forward. The tri-coloured adult chewed on his bottom lip, wondering whether or not he should call out again. The yellow light from the street lamp passed above him and finally shone on the other's face.

No, he definitely wouldn't call out.

The man's face was much paler than the rest of his body, – from what Yuugi could see – a palish grey colour that seemed to swim along his skin until it consumed everything, rolling like waves on the shore. Even so, the strands of hair could not hide the features that held themselves on that face, not even with their shadows. Where his eyes should be two deep black holes were instead. Deep purple veins spread from the corners of his eyes outwards, along his cheeks and up his temples.

His lips were pulled back, the colour a mixture of blue and purple, to reveal sickeningly long teeth. Yuugi's mind couldn't help but think that they didn't belong in a human's mouth, rather a mutant piranha's.

A clawed hand swiped at the young man as a hiss escaped those horribly twisted lips, cracked claws only just missing Yuugi's cheek by inches. Eyes wide and mouth parted slightly, he stared in horror as this. . . This _thing _started to advance faster, no longer playing the game, no longer taking one step at a time. The stench that wafted through the air made the amethyst-eyed male gag, his heart now stammering into overdrive.

He turned on the balls of his feet and ran.

The sound of blood pounding in his ears and his ragged breathing drowned out any other noise that he would be able to hear. He didn't know if the man was following him, or if he had hallucinated what he'd seen. Maybe that was it. He had simply stayed up too late watching documentaries and they'd all meshed together in his head to create something that obviously didn't exist.

At least, he let himself think that until he ended up skidding across the floor, trying to stop even though it was impossible at the speed his legs had been carrying him. He banged into the solid body of the creature – which he noticed didn't move an inch after the collision – and scrambled desperately to get away before those clawed hands came and trapped him. He sped down the way he'd come, turning the corner and running past the place where he had first bumped into the stranger.

Going home was his safest bet. He didn't know what the Hell that thing was, but being alone and vulnerable was not an option.

Yuugi breathed quickly through his mouth, the cold air drying it almost instantly. He didn't care that the breeze hurt his body and his muscles ached. He would keep running all the way until sunrise if he had to. He wouldn't let that weirdo catch him, oh no. He didn't plan to be anybody's prey.

The tri-coloured boy stumbled as he rounded a corner, nearly tripping but managing to catch himself in time. He heard a hiss and a grunt as the creature behind him smacked into the wall next to him. He shrieked and tried to run faster, his body feeling much colder, even with his jacket on and done-up. He balled his hands into fists, hoping that the pain from his nails digging into his palms would awake him from this _nightmare_.

He yelped once more – he didn't scream. Psh. He wasn't some _girl_ – as his hood was grabbed and he was yanked backwards. He choked, fingers coming up to grab at the fabric and try to pull it desperately away from his tender throat. He looked up and could vaguely make out two gaping holes staring at him. . . Hungrily? How did that even work? He didn't allow himself much time to think as he elbowed the man as hard as he could. Unfortunately it didn't do any actual damage, but the stranger seemed to be surprised enough that his grip loosened.

Yuugi struggled to get the fabric from unusually long fingers. After what seemed to be an eternity he managed to succeed. He took off running once more, his leather shoes slapping messily against the concrete as he all but propelled himself forward. Golden strands flittered about his face, not making his vision any better with the now lack of sunlight.

If he'd been paying attention, he'd noticed it had been gone for a long while.

Turning down another street, he could see the Game Shop, even though the lights were off. He let a small smile come across his face before he heard a groan and menacing hiss come from behind him. Chancing a look over his shoulder, the monster that was coming after him was stumbling as it raised itself from a crouching position. Whatever it was, it didn't appear to be very graceful. For that, Yuugi was thankful.

He ran to the shop as quick as he could, now very aware of the footsteps that followed him, much quicker than his own. He skidded along the floor and grabbed onto the shop's handle for support. It wouldn't be good now if he suddenly ended up dead because of his goddamn shoes that had _no grip what-so-ever_. He yanked the door open and pushed himself inside. The door closed behind him and he shoved his hand into his pocket, grabbing his keys. He rushed up to the door to lock it when it was forced open. The glass slammed into his body and caused him to go flying across the room, landing in a heap on the floor.

He groaned, unable to keep the noise from escaping his mouth. He pushed himself up onto his hands, gasping when he felt his jacket was grabbed once more and he was yanked up, dangling helplessly in the air. He winced as the thing's breath washed over his face. Smelling of rotting meet with a metallic hint that he just couldn't put his finger on. He winced again and struggled, kicking anything in reach as those black holes got closer and closer. His foot connected with the beast's knee, then its shin and then its groin.

With a yowl it let go of Yuugi, doubling over on itself. The smaller of the two backed up, eyes still wide, mouth opening and closing, as if he wanted to say something yet not at the same time. He looked around frantically as the being launched itself at him. He yelped and moved out the way just in time to feel the thing crash into the glass case that held a few games on display. Glass littered the floor and flew threw the air. Yuugi skidded along the floor, a few shards of glass making his way even more difficult, heading towards the kitchen.

The stranger made his way after him, reaching out a clawed hand as he tried to swipe him once more. He hissed as he missed and launched himself at Yuugi, tackling him down and pinning him to the floor. The nineteen year old let out a scream – yes, he admitted it this time – and struggled, balling his fingers into fists as he tried to free himself.

The black haired male hissed loudly, opening his mouth as far as it could go and leaning down to stare into Yuugi's face. His breath hitched as he tried hard not to breathe. He struggled harder, trying to kick out with his legs. He momentarily noticed just how short his legs were compared to this creature's. It was a stupid time to feel jealous, but the man's overall strength made him feel weak in those grey hands.

Yuugi managed to kick the man's shin so hard that he felt it in his own foot. The man snarled and looked down, letting Yuugi rise his knee enough to hit him hard in the stomach. The thing howled and he tried to push him off. His amethyst eyes flickered around the room, trying to find something he could use to defend himself. He didn't want to truly hurt whoever this was, but he wasn't even sure what the actual fuck was going on. He moved to cross his arms over his face, to protect himself from both the hideous view and the disabilitising stench.

His eyes locked on a fork that was on the counter, its handle poking over the side slightly. He pressed his lips into a thin line as he tried to come up with a plan when his arms were forced back down on the ground. He let out a gasp then growled as he headbutted the noiret in front of him. With a yowl, the creature backed off enough for Yuugi to push him off and grab the fork, jamming it into the thing's shoulder.

An inhuman scream seemed to crawl its way out of the thing's throat and Yuugi couldn't help but wonder how the Hell his grandpa hadn't woken up and come down to see what the commotion was about. He didn't want to think the worst, and just wanted to think that maybe his grandpa was just a heavier sleeper than he expected, but that in itself was a push.

Yuugi watched in shock as the human-looking thing grabbed the fork, snarling under its breath, and yanked it out of its own flesh. Black liquid seeped out of the wounds and the tri-coloured boy just couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. He took a step back subconsciously, swallowing loudly. Black holes were now trained on him.

Quickly, he looked around trying to see what he could use to defend himself. In a blind panic, he grabbed a plate from the side, not caring whether it was dirty or not, and chucked it at the black-haired _freak_. It broke upon contact with the man's head and he grabbed a cup, throwing it. The object was caught in a clawed fist, where it was smashed into a million pieces. That startled him, causing him to gasp and gape, body not responding as the pieces were thrown to the floor, unnecessary.

He looked around again, all the while backing up. He didn't want to be any closer than he had to be, and if he could help it, he would escape whatever hellish nightmare this was alive. Eventually, he found a kitchen knife in the sink and made a grab for it, the wet handle slipping slightly in his palm. He tightened his grip and pulled it out, water splashing over the sides and a little onto the floor. Before he was even able to spin around the stranger was there in front of him, snarling.

A fist connected with his cheek and he gasped, stumbling backwards, body no longer responding. He wasn't sure what to do, his hands hanging uselessly by his sides. His grip on the knife loosened. The stinging pain he felt radiate from his cheek consumed his attention until a hand – too cold, too dry – wrapped around his neck and held him up, shoving him against the wall.

Without another thought, Yuugi choked on a gasp and gripped the knife tighter. Before he lost his strength, he plunged the blade deep into the creature's chest.

The noiret looked at him with wide eyes, stumbling backwards. His hand dropped from Yuugi's neck and, in turn, the boy fell to the floor, gasping for air. He watched with horrified eyes as black gushed out from around the knife and the figure dropped dead on the floor. He wasn't moving.

The young adult sat there in the silence of the night, eyes wide, throat sore and dry, hand rubbing his neck gingerly, staring at a man _he'd just killed _lying not three feet away from him. He tried to control his breathing, but the more he looked on, the more he didn't understand, the more he couldn't comprehend that out of all people, _he_ had been the one to commit man slaughter. He could feel his eyes burning and his throat clogging up for a completely different reason, but he didn't dare let the waterworks start.

He was in shock, his mind unable to compute just what it was that he had done. It had been an act of self-defence – of that he was 100% sure – but it didn't make it any better. In order to save his life, he had had to end another. Only then did it dawn on him that the. . . _Thing_ had wanted to kill him, had been trying to, even though he was sure the both of them had never met before. It didn't make sense. Just what the Hell was going on?

And it was in the dead of night, where a young boy watched in absolute horror, disgust and fear, that the beast's head snapped over to look at him, mouth gaping open and black holes poised on him. The stranger rose from the ground slowly, first pushing his torso up, then crouching, his head rolling bonelessly upon his shoulders, then standing, leaning against the counter for support. The noiret's head snapped up once more and an animalistic hand reached up to grab the knife. The weapon was yanked from the chest, where a slash stayed in its place.

Yuugi could feel acidic bile rise in the back of his throat.

Looking around as quickly as he could to try and find something, his gaze fell on the only other weapon close to him; a dainty looking silver knife that was lying on the floor, less than half a foot away. He reached for it quickly, feeling the grooves of the pattern in his hand. He vaguely remembered how it had once been owned by his grandma. Even if it wasn't as sharp as a kitchen knife, it was all he could reach before that creature of the night was upon him, teeth bared and hissing like an angry cat.

Without another thought, Yuugi plunged the small knife into the wound, making sure it pierced the thing's heart. Maybe he'd missed it on his first try and that had been why it hadn't died. Maybe that was the possibility. Maybe this time he would do it right and save himself from whatever torturous things had been planned.

A pained scream filled the air and the man – if one could call him that at the height of the movie – almost immediately was engulfed in a flame that lasted less than a second, turning him to ash.

Yuugi looked down. His eyes were burning, his throat was sore and the bile was rising once again. Quickly turning his head to the side, Yuugi promptly threw up over the linoleum floor.


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

It had been a week since _The Incident_ and Yuugi still felt that his mind was in shock. He had tried not to think about it, as he didn't want anybody to know – or himself – that he had indeed killed a man, that he had blood on his hands. Of all the people in the world, he had never expected him to be one to have to resort to death as self-defence. But when he did let his mind wander, he found himself asking if what he had killed was _indeed_ a man. He hadn't thought so when the thing had turned to ash.

That night he had hoped it had all been a nightmare and that maybe, just maybe, his mind had been playing horrible tricks on him. Only when he had awaken in the morning to his grandpa shaking his shoulders with a worried look on his face did he find out that no, it hadn't been a dream. He hadn't been able to bring himself to tell his grandpa what had happened, and instead went with the presumption that they had been broken into and possibly even robbed, as much as he had hated to say it. The two of them had set about cleaning the shop they had found that everything was in its place, if a little broken.

A few of their regular customers had come and offered to help, though the both of them had declined. At some point. Anzu had come over, gasped and looked on shocked. She had helped them despite the fact that they had both tried to get her out of the shop. For the rest of the day, they had set about trying to reorganize the shop, bring it back to how it once had been, and a few days later they were open once more.

But now, now that it had been a long while since Yuugi had had to clean up the ashes that the creature had left behind when it had died, he couldn't help but think that somehow – just somehow – it all sounded vaguely familiar, like there was something that was known for turning to ash once it died. Though, as much as he thought, sometimes even zoning out on his grandpa and Anzu, he could never think of what it was. The gnawing feeling in the back of his mind only served to annoy him, making him irritable in the last few days, snapping at people for no good reason.

And, of course, Yuugi being the man that he was, apologised profusely, saying that they had done nothing wrong and he just had trouble sleeping.

But, one night when he actually couldn't sleep, he decided to stay in his room and watch TV on the small screen on his desk, huddled up in the corner of his bed with his quilt tucked over him, hugging a pillow to his chest. His large amethyst eyes were stuck to the screen, soaking in everything of the movie that he was watching. He had always loved this movie, and it was probably his thirty-something'th time watching it.

"_When Judas betrayed Jesus," Henry picked up the crucible, raising it to his eyes for inspection, "his reward was thirty pieces of silver." He moved the crucible over to where Abe was holding out his axe. He gently poured the hot liquid over the edge of the blade, coating it. Some drops fell to the floor. "At that moment, those pieces were a symbol of betraying God, of evil. And silver became a curse upon the cursed."_

_The scene changed to Abe and Henry standing at an old-fashioned bar, two groups of candles on the wooden top of the bar. Henry had his eyes on the nuts in his hands as he crushed them. He stopped momentarily to ask for a drink. Abe refused the offer of a drink with the shake of his head. He took a handful of nuts himself, crushing them in his hand._

"_You'll never see a vampire with silver on his person," he continued. "Nor will you see him reflected in mirrors. . ."_

Yuugi froze on the spot as those words registered in his mind. He'd heard them countless times before, could even mouth them word for word. But now. . . Now they held a different meaning for him. Or at least, he thought they did. His body was frozen in time while his mind was, instead, whirring 100/mph with the thoughts of what had happened to him a week ago. He was no longer focusing on the movie. He couldn't.

Painfully wide eyes moved slowly to his hand. Mentally, he placed the slim, silver knife that had once belonged to a set owned by his grandma in his palm. All he could remember was how that creature had gotten up after a _sharp kitchen knife_ had been embedded in his chest, yet a simple and almost harmless _piece of cutlery_ had ended him.

The sound of banging on glass aroused him from his state of mind, head snapping over to stare at his window. He sagged in relief when all he saw was the tree that had grown out of proportion banging against it. He quickly got up and out of bed, ignoring the cold air that hit his warm body, and turned on the lights.

He left the TV on, the movie continuing on in the background. He decided it was better than the eerie silence that would reign would he turn it off. He grabbed his laptop and shuffled back onto his bed with a trembling body and eyes still painfully wide open. He turned on the computer, chewing on his bottom lip absently as he waited rather impatiently.

As soon as he was in, he opened Ice Dragon and typed at the top ''. In the search bar that appeared, he typed in '_abraham lincoln vampire hunter_'. He immediately went to the Wikipedia page and skimmed over the part until he found the single word that made his blood run cold and his trembling only worsen. He tried to shake his head, to take a calming breath, to explain to himself that they simply didn't exist. Because they couldn't exist. They were mere fiction, stuff of fairytales and myths created to scare children and adults alike. Nothing more.

Slowly, his finger moved across the pad so the mouse on the screen hovered over the word. He clicked on the link and instantaneously, the page he was on was redirected to another.

_Vampire_.

His eyes moved across what he decided was the introduction and scrolled down until he found the table of contents. He stared at each and every link until he decided to click on '_Description and common attributes_'. The page moved down and he read the small paragraph, eyes widening at the first few words.

'_It is difficult to make a single, definitive description of the folkloric vampire. . ._'

He continued reading, noting how this creature that had attacked him certainly didn't look bloated, but it neither had fangs. Its teeth had been long and sharp like a knife, making him wince at the memory, at their sharpness. The thing's skin had been darker though, and that alarmed him. He skipped the next section and read '_Identifying vampires_' finding it to be rather outdated. But then again, what did he expect? As far as anybody knew, vampires didn't exist.

Yuugi scrolled down a little more, stopping when the section jumped out at him. '_Apotropaics_'. He saw what most people already knew, about crucifixes, garlic, holy water, their inability to cross running water and a few others. But what made him stop and gasp were three parts of the paragraph that read as follows;

'_. . . (in some cultures, vampires do not have a reflection and sometimes do not cast a shadow, perhaps as a manifestation of the vampire's lack of a soul). . . Some traditions also hold that a vampire cannot enter a house unless invited by the owner, although after the first invitation they can come and go as they please. . . Though folkloric vampires were believed to be more active at night, they were not generally considered vulnerable to sunlight._'

Not vulnerable to sunlight? Only able to come inside once invited? Yuugi's mind was having trouble computing it all. He knew most of this, or would have at least have recognised them if someone had mentioned him. But now, as he thought of it and tried to convince himself that these creatures _did exist_, fear gripped his heart. How could something so. . . So _horrible_ exist in such a world?

He shook his head gently, though never peeled his eyes away from the screen. He pushed a few golden strands behind his ear as they fell in front of his vision.

He couldn't stop himself from reading more. He felt the bile rise in his throat once more at the thought of having to decapitate one of these beings. Just the thought of how much blood there would be and how he'd see the inside of the neck made him want to puke, his face having gone sickly pale. He closed his eyes and breathed heavily through his nose, trying to calm himself and stop the flopping of his stomach. He didn't like this feeling.

Reading on about the other methods, the young adult didn't know if his mind was playing tricks on him or if he really believed this. How could a creature exist? Sure it didn't. He did admit that there were bats that drank blood. But he doubted that there were beings who could _become_ bats, aside from being bloodsuckers. He pursed his lips at the thought of coming into contact with one of them again. He shivered, remembering the animalistic claws that had made grabs at him, and wound their fingers around his slim throat. Almost subconsciously his own hand raised to gently rub the skin that was touched. He flinched and then sighed.

Being afraid would get him nowhere.

He tried his best to push his thoughts out of his mind, keep the images at bay, so he could at least get a few hours of shut eye. He closed his laptop and placed it on his desk, at the same time turning off his TV. He used his phone as a light when he turned his bedroom light off, returning to his bed. He snuggled down under the covers, pulling them up to his chin. He squeezed his eyes shut, and convinced himself that he was safe.

Sometimes, a lie was better than the truth.

Yu-Gi-Oh!

That morning Yuugi woke up the same as he did every day, but instead of getting up straight away he stared at the ceiling, letting his brain work through the information he had gathered the night before. Of course, he'd ended up getting little to no sleep, but that didn't matter.

He pushed off the covers with a shaky hand, took a deep breath and forced himself up. He walked downstairs, smiling a little when he saw his grandpa in the kitchen, making himself a cup of coffee. "Morning, Grandpa."

The old man looked up, a smile of his own lighting up his face. "Good morning, Yuugi! Did you sleep well?"

"Not really. . . But I do feel more energetic than these last few days!" the youngest tried, walking past his grandpa to get a bowl and spoon. _More like agitated as Hell._

Purple eyes similar to his own watched him but no more questions were asked on that topic. Taking a sip, the grey-haired man exited the kitchen while saying, "You should visit Ryou sometime soon, Yuugi. I haven't seen him around here lately and I'm getting a bit worried."

"I've tried!" he called back, pouring cereal into his bowl. He placed the box back in the cupboard and followed his grandpa into the living room. "But he always tells me to go home. I think he says he's got the flu or something. Won't let me go near him."

"Even when he's ill he still worries about others," his grandpa said with a small shake of his head.

"He texted me yesterday though to say that he was getting better and should be up and about in a few days." Yuugi munched on his spoonful of his breakfast. He didn't like cereal with milk. Made the bottom pieces go soggy and disgusting. "I'll make sure to visit as soon as he lets me."

That seemed to please the elder as he said nothing more on the subject. The two of them conversed until Yuugi had finished his breakfast and ran up the stairs, vaguely hearing his grandpa call about being careful. He stepped into the shower and washed his body under hot jets of water. When he came out, his skin was slightly pink. He laughed at himself when he looked in the mirror. He looked like he'd gotten a minor sunburn.

As he was getting dressed, however, the thoughts from the night and week before kept circling around his head. His eyes were watching his computer as his arms slowly did up his belt. He stopped his movements a moment, letting his hands rest on the leather, thumbs hooked between his belt and jeans.

"_When Judas betrayed Jesus his reward was thirty pieces of silver. At that moment, those pieces were a symbol of betraying God, of evil. And silver became a curse upon the cursed."_

He couldn't help but think that maybe he would encounter another creature. What would happen? Would they get him this time? Would he be able to escape once more? He shook his head, not wanting to think about what would happen if his life essence was sucked from his body. Because that was what vampires wanted, right? They wanted your life's essence, to take away the thing that makes you work and bring death upon you.

With a deep sigh, the young man continued to get dressed, grabbing a dark T-shirt and a soft jacket. He liked the way it felt against his skin and it kept him warm. He was happy when he wore it, and thought that if he had something so familiar on, maybe he wouldn't feel so jittery and agitated every few seconds.

As he walked down the stairs in socked feet, grabbing his shoes at the bottom, he couldn't help but think about how exposed he felt. He didn't have anything to defend himself should the creatures decide to attack him again. He was doubtful, though, trying to convince himself that maybe he – still – had hallucinated the whole ordeal, and he had merely freaked out while sleep-walking or something.

Thing was, he didn't sleepwalk.

All throughout the day, his mind was anywhere but at work. He managed to smile and be polite, even talk to the costumers and assure them that he was perfectly fine. He would force himself to laugh or chuckle if someone told a joke, if only to get on their good side.

Should he be taking one of his grandma's silver knives around with him wherever he went? It seemed like a good idea, like something he should do. His grandma would forgive him. He was using her cutlery for a good cause – even if it wasn't its actual purpose.

But would it be sharp enough to penetrate skin? Sure, it could cut meat, but then you had to do a sawing motion. And the only reason he had been able to push it inside the. . . Thing the last time was because there was already a wound. He shook his head, not wanting to think about it. It still gave him nightmares, sending cold shivers down his spine.

Suddenly, the door to the shop banged open, almost hitting the wall with the force. A rather wide-eyed man rushed inside, breathing harshly and stomping right up to the counter. Yuugi stopped what he was doing and watched the man in surprise and confusion. Just what the Hell was happening?

"Have you seen him? Has Ryuji been here? I've been looking all over for him! Please tell me you've seen him!" the man shouted at Grandpa, eyes wide and pleading.

". . . Ryuji?" Grandpa asked back, looking a little more than confused.

"Yes, Otogi Ryuji! Uhm, he has green eyes with black hair in a ponytail! And and he's pretty tall. Normally wears sleeveless tops?" The man still looked hopeful, leaning forward with his hands pressed on the counter.

From his place in the store, Yuugi froze.

Grandpa frowned. He'd never had a very good memory for people who weren't his friends. He took a step back, slightly put off by the man's behaviour. "Do you have a photo of him?"

"Ah, yes! Of course!" The stranger reached into his pocket and unfolded a piece of paper.

Yuugi was sure that if the costumer he was serving hadn't been holding onto the game, it would've crashed to the floor.

The elder leaned forward and peered carefully at the photo before shaking his head. "I'm sorry. I've only seen him a few times, and none of which have been recently."

The stranger cursed and shoved the picture back in his pocket, not caring if the paper got scrunched up. He ran a hand through his hair and then ran out of the shop, shouting out a "Thank you!" as he left.

How could this be possible? He had had grey skin, veins on his face and holes for eyes. How. . .? Yuugi wasn't paying attention to the murmurs around him. His skin felt hot, he could hear his heart beating loudly in his ears. He wasn't sure if he was breathing any more. Someone was talking to him but it sounded muffled, like he was underwater. Had he hurt an innocent? Had the darkness merely played with him and made him think he was being attacked by something non-human? No, those claws were too real.

"Yuugi!"

Finally his eyes focused. He saw his grandpa standing in front of him, hands on his shoulders and shaking him back and forth. Worry was etched into the old man's expression, a frown also taking hold of his features. "Yuugi, are you okay?"

The nineteen-year-old blinked a few times. He then reached up and took hold of his grandpa's wrists, easing his hands off his shoulders. "Sorry, spaced out for a moment is all." He threw in a smile, hoping that would reassure the other.

It didn't.

"Maybe you need to take a nap. You were looking at nothing for a good few minutes." Grandpa was insistent, frown deepening. "I don't want you suddenly collapsing due to lack of energy."

"I'll be fine, Grandpa. You don't need to worry about me." Even so, the youth's smile faltered. He knew he wasn't going to win against the old man when it came to health.

"No. You're going to go up to your room and take a nap. When you wake up you can continue to help me." He proceeded to push Yuugi gently in direction of the stairs.

The boy sagged and gave up, walking now willingly towards the stairs. "Fine. But if I sleep through the whole day, you're the one to blame."

"Right."

Yuugi chuckled and shook his head. With a wave, he disappeared up the stairs. He stopped halfway to take his shoes off then continued. He placed his shoes at the end of his bed when he got into his bedroom, sitting on the mattress and letting out a sigh. He rubbed his face with his hands and looked out of the window.

The tree that had scared him last night was still there, though the branch wasn't banging against the glass.

"_You'll never see a vampire with silver on his person. Nor will you see him reflected in mirrors. . ."_

Yuugi let his face fall into his hands. All of this was stuff of fiction, made up, unreal. Illogical. But then everything has some kind of logic behind it, even if it didn't seem worthy enough to be called logic. He shook his head a little, trying to clear his thoughts. It didn't work, only making them mix together to form a weird cloud in his mind, shouting out at him from all angles. He let out a frustrated groan and flopped backwards.

Watching the ceiling for a few moments, he turned his head and found himself looking at a picture of his mother on his desk. She had died only a few years ago when she'd been a part of a car crash. She'd lived for a few hours after the hit but died in the hospital. Yuugi had been sad for a while after than – undoubtedly – but with the help of his friends he had come back as the same guy as before, if a bit more wary of the world and its tricks.

Sitting next to the photo was a locket. It was something his mum had given him for his fifteenth birthday. It was an old looking thing, probably an antique of some sort. He hadn't been particularly keen on it, but he had taken a soft spot to it after his mother's passing. He never wore it, but kept it near her picture, as if to prove to her that he hadn't thrown it out. If he remembered correctly, she'd said it had been made from silver.

Yuugi froze. _Silver_.

He was immediately standing by his desk, holding the locket carefully in his hands, staring down at it intently. This could harm vampires. This little thing, this small oval, could kill a creature that other metal couldn't. It wasn't sharp enough to slice open flesh, and find the idea of having he didn't to force it down one of those things' throats very nice.

He closed his fist around the now slightly warm object and turned his gaze towards his TV.

Yu-Gi-Oh!

The next day, which happened to be Saturday, Yuugi awoke late and decided that that day he would watch _Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter _again. But this time, he would take notes on what was said, what things about. . . Vampires were important for him to know. He would understand how to stop them in case he would stumble upon another one day.

With his pen poised over his notebook, soon the sound of scratching filled the room as well as the sounds from the movie on the TV. His brows furrowed as he listened intently. He could only curse himself in his head that he didn't know shorthand.

There were a few things about the creatures of the night that seemed to follow everywhere, things that were a given. Those creatures had sharp teeth and inhuman strength and speed. But there were a few things that he didn't expect, like the beasts turning themselves invisible or unable to kill themselves. They could adapt to sunlight, which would not harm them any longer, and they would change.

He stopped for a moment, hand stilling from his notes, instead lifting his head to watch the scenes that flashed across the screen. He waited for a few moments, soaking in everything his eyes were showing him. Of course, he had no idea, no way to know just how much of these characteristics the things in his day had, or how different they were.

His gaze fell to the locket on the desk. If he could melt that down and pour it over some kind of sharp weapon that he could use to kill them, he would be able to fight back.

The sounds of fighting brought him back to the movie and he noted how, every time the creatures were cut into, black liquid would come out of the wounds instead of blood. He wondered if the blackness were the vampires' equivalent of human blood. It would make sense since it would be travelling through their veins.

That day, he decided that he would go out and buy some kind of knife, melt the locket and pour it over the blade.

Yu-Gi-Oh!

The act of melting the silver was something he had trouble with, though he used an excuse of needing to buy ingredients in order to make pancakes so he could buy the knife. He, of course, hid it inside his jacket and moved it up to his room after he had cut it out of its packaging.

He had inspected it before he had tried to look into melting the locket. It was small, the blade only five inches long. It was single-bladed and shone in the light. The handle was made of some kind of plastic, black in colour. It fit in the palm of his hand perfectly. He had turned it over in his hand, inspecting it.

Yuugi couldn't believe it. He would be an armed citizen travelling around Domino, constantly on the look-out for some kind of creature that would try and suck him dry. He still didn't trust himself to say the word in case that made them all the more real.

He had waited until his grandpa had gone to sleep when he had gone down to the kitchen with the idea to melt the locket and then pour it gently over the blade. Only then would it be able to call itself a murder weapon.

He had a bit of trouble, getting the right temperature in order to melt the metal. Several times he burnt his hands, cursing under his breath and running his hand under freezing cold water. He ended up wrapping a bandage around his throbbing limb with ice trapped between the folds of the cloth.

Once he did have the metal melted, he placed a small bowl beneath the blade of the knife hurriedly and then poured the liquid over the blade on both sides. He made sure to coat it as even as he could. It wouldn't do to have a blunt instrument unable to penetrate rotting flesh.

Once the silver had cooled down and the blade was covered, he stared at it for a moment, forgetting his throbbing hand for a second. He polished the knife and smoothed out the bumps as best he could. It was good for a first attempt, not perfect, but it would have to do.

That was the first night Yuugi managed to sleep soundly.

Yu-Gi-Oh!

The knife travelled through the air, spinning over itself and tearing through the paper shoulder of its target. It continued on until it bounced against the wall, falling to the floor with a clatter.

Over the past few weeks, Yuugi had encountered a few more attacks from those he'd decided to dub as the 'un-dead' as the simple fact of calling them vampires still hadn't registered in his mind. He hadn't seen one of them feed, hadn't seen blood on their lips, simply the hungry looks in their sockets that still gave him shivers. He had come to terms with the fact that the grey skin and veins weren't how they looked normally. In fact, they blended in rather well and mostly attacked in the dark, so they wouldn't be seen.

The first one had been just as awkward as when Yuugi had fought Otogi. He hadn't known well how to defeat one of their kind, since the first had been on accident and in blind panic. But now, now that he expected what was to come, he had thought it would be easier and maybe he wouldn't be horrified or scared any more.

He couldn't be more wrong.

The vampires teeth had grown so long it hadn't even been able to close its own mouth, some of them cracked and the ends torn off or rotten. Yuugi had to guess that the un-dead had been older than Otogi – possibly by centuries – as he had been more graceful and experienced when trying to kill the young man. He had managed to swipe his cheeks with his claws, cutting three scratches onto the fair skin.

Yuugi had struggled and ran, trying to escape the claws of the dark being, and for the most part he had managed. But then there had been times when he had run straight into the chest of the beast and stumbled backwards. Eventually, he had stabbed the thing in the side with his small knife, out of breath with his muscles aching.

Only seconds later had the thing screamed and turned to ash, some pieces carried away on the breeze.

After that night, the young man had realised that he didn't need to stab them in the chest with silver for them to die. It could be any place of their body, as long as it was the precious metal. With that thought in mind, Yuugi had decided that he would stab the next monster anywhere with his knife and he would escape.

Fortunately for him, it had worked.

After being confronted once more, the tri-coloured man had bought another knife, this one with a six and a half inch blade. He'd given it the same treatment, coated the blade in the left-over sliver from his mother's now melted locket. On top of that, he'd bought himself another belt and made a make-shift holster for his knives that was easy for him to get to, yet it was disguised enough that nobody would think twice of it. He'd also been jogging an hour for a few days before his next attack in the hope that he would be faster.

The second vampire had been stabbed in the hand, the blade going through flesh and bone, sticking out the other side. She had screamed before being washed away on the wind.

Yuugi walked over to grab the knife that laid on the floor with a sigh.

By now, the youth had a few more knives added to his collection, both small enough for him to hide on his person without raising suspicion. He kind of liked the idea of the small knives, and decided that if he actually started getting better at this, he wouldn't change them for another weapon.

Unfortunately, in order to cover these blades in silver, he had had to melt more than the little he had left-over from his mother's locket. He'd decided on taking the smallest piece of silver he could find in the house and use that. He had had to take a small teaspoon from his grandma's cutlery set, and just prayed to Ra that his grandpa wouldn't notice that it was missing.

So far, so good.

Along with knives, Yuugi had decided that at some point it might be a good idea to go with the traditional stake-to-the-heart technique. It would come in handy to have wooden spikes and plunge it through their chest, but he wasn't sure if they would turn to dust or if their body would stay there. Was the turning to dust simply something that happened when they came into contact with silver? He didn't know and, in the middle of the street where anybody could see them, he decided he didn't want to risk that chance.

In order to become better at fighting vampires – apart form watching _Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter _again and again like it was his Bible – he had asked his grandpa if he could use their basement as up until then it hadn't gotten any use. Grandpa had agreed, unknowing of just what it was his grandson was up to.

Soon, Yuugi had placed targets all up over the room. They were mainly made out of paper, stuck on things so they'd stay up. They were of all shapes and sizes, but just about resembled human forms. He decided that if he could throw his knives at the still targets and damage them, then he would work his way up to somehow find a way to make them move, and try that.

So far, he would manage to tear through the edges of the paper targets. Admittedly, it was better than when he had started, and he was starting to get the hang of getting his knife to spin through the air, though his aim could do with some more work.

Unbeknownst to him, the door at the top of the stairs had creaked open and a familiar face walked down the stairs.

The nineteen year old had just cut through the top of a paper target's head, leaving a rather large tare, when he heard a gasp. Halfway through his little happy dance, he froze and quickly turned around to see wide pink eyes staring at him, a small mouth gaping.

Ryou was flickering his gaze between Yuugi and the knife that had bounced off the wall, taking out a piece of paint with it, and fallen to the floor. The shorter of the two could tell that by the expressions fluttering across his face, he didn't know what was going on and was confused and probably suspected Yuugi of planning to commit murder.

Funny thing was, it was partly true.

"Ryou," he started, taking a step towards the albino foreigner and letting his hand that held two more knives drop to his side. He didn't know how to continue and seeing the look on his friend's face, he didn't know if he'd be able to.

"Yuugi," the Brit said slowly. "If you're going to kill someone, tell me now so I can distance myself from you as much as possible. I don't want to become part of it."

Silence reigned the small room, roses staring amethysts down, daring him to say something, anything. Suddenly, Yuugi felt too hot in his jacket, even though it was still rather cold outside.

"Ryou," he said again, as if just saying his name would make him understand. "I know this seems wrong and I know what you're thinking, but if you listen to what I have to say, you'll see that I have a rea-"

"Nope, no, I don't want to hear anything." The white-haired man pointed a finger at his friend, eyes narrowing accusingly even though there was still surprise and fear etched into them. "I don't want to hear about how you want me to cover up for you or act innocent if the peelers come after me. I want none of it."

Yuugi took a step toward him, reaching out with his free hand. Ryou took a step backwards, now on the bottom step of the stairs that lead up to the house. They never looked away from each other's face. All Yuugi could do was hope the other would believe him.

"I'm not trying to kill a man, I'm trying to defend myself," he said slowly, hoping that he would be believed.

Ryou took a few more steps upwards, hand on the banister. "You're fucking mad." His voice was slightly shaken and he looked like he didn't want to compute just what the Hell was going on. He looked like he didn't want to believe that his closest friend was capable of murder. "You're fucking mad and I want nothing to do with it. Stay the Hell away from me. I won't cover for you if they come after you. You're on your own!"

And with that, the boy ran up the stairs and slammed the door closed.


	3. Chapter Two

**|[A peeler is British slang for a police officer. Another is 'bobby'.]|**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Two<span>

"I'm just going to go for a walk!" Yuugi called over his shoulder, shrugging on a thick enough jacket that made him feel warm and comfortable, zipping it up at the front.

"You be careful! And be back before dark, you hear me!" his grandpa called back to him from somewhere inside the shop. The words caused the young man's hand to immediately brush against the part of the belt where he kept a few of his small knives.

"I will!"

The door clicked closed behind him softly. Taking a deep breath of the fresh air he began to walk, shoving his hands in his pockets. Big eyes flickered upwards to watch the sky, the way the blue seemed to be unbroken. There were no clouds that day, simply clear skies. Though the sun wasn't that visible either. Yuugi found himself unable to pinpoint just where it was in the sky.

The nineteen-year-old let out a sigh, his shoulders sagging and breath turning to white mist as it came into contact with the cold air. He had a lot on his mind, more than usual. His thoughts kept redirecting themselves to Ryou. What was he doing? Why hadn't he gotten in touch since Saturday? Did he really think Yuugi was planning to kill?

By the look that he had had on his face, the answer to the last question was obvious.

Yuugi shook his head. Truthfully, he wasn't going on a walk. Instead he was trying to think of something he could say to Ryou that would convince him that he was not in fact crazy, just extremely wary and not willing to die. Because he was still young, he deserved to live his life until his time came. He wasn't about to let some weird creature of the night come and take that away from him. No. He would fight until his last dying breath if he had to.

But what could he say? He couldn't just barge into the male's house and demand time to explain. That wouldn't work, and it wouldn't make Ryou think he was any less crazy. It would probably just prove to the albino that he was trying to convince himself that he wasn't crazy. Which was something he didn't want. Because he wasn't crazy. He just wanted to live.

Either way, he needed his friend to listen. He didn't know if he could keep this to himself. It was such a big secret, such a big part of his life. He had to tell someone about it, right? He couldn't just bottle it up. It would eat him alive.

With that decision in mind, Yuugi lifted his head, determination etched into his features, and made his way to Ryou's house.

Just as he turned the corner he bumped into a woman. He stumbled backwards, reaching out to grip something to keep his balance. Vaguely, he felt a hand grasping his wrist and jerking him upright. He blinked a few times once he had finished swaying on the spot and turned to the stranger who, for some reason, hadn't let go of his hand.

"Sorry for bumping into you, but thanks," he said, trying to twist his arm out of her grip.

She just smiled at him. It was the type of smile that unnerved you down to the very bone and set goosebumps running along your skin. "You don't need to apologise, my boy. I don't mind."

Amethyst eyes flickered from her face that put him on edge to her fingers curled around his wrist. Her nails were long and painted an unflattering red colour. "You can let go now," he suggested, tugging on his arm for good measure.

"Now why would I want to do that, Yuugi?" she cooed, cocking her head. Dark strands of hair fell in front of her face and her eyes darkened, the pupil expanding outwards to consume her whole eye. The veins at the corners of her eyes were a bit more prominent, her skin slowly becoming more like that grey colour Yuugi had begun to detest.

But what put him on edge the most was the fact that she _knew his name_.

He forcefully yanked his hand out of her grip, propelling his body backwards with the hope that she wouldn't be able to grip him any more. Lucky for him, it worked. But as a consequence he fell on his butt. She was on him in a mater of seconds. Her nails had grown enough that she could cause him damage.

He rolled over as she tried to make a grab for his neck and pushed himself up onto his feet. He ran down the pavement, hoping beyond hope that she wouldn't follow him in daylight. Hey, just because he had the means to destroy her didn't mean that he would suddenly gain some kind of confidence and be able to kill them without any kind of hesitation. He didn't like doing it in the first place, but he didn't have a choice. On top of that fact, if he could, he would do it somewhere that there'd be little to no witnesses.

Unfortunately for Yuugi she followed him.

She was fast and graceful on her feet, hardly stumbling or tripping. And she was in heels to top it all off. The young man couldn't help but think that she must be quite used to running in heels at the speed she was going at. He also had the creeping suspicion she wasn't about to give up on the chase.

Skidding down an alley, he pushed off a dirty wall with his hand so he wouldn't smack into it. He heard her hissing behind him, most likely becoming even more and more like the creature of horror that she was. There would be no more beauty where she was concerned. Of that, he was sure.

Chancing a look over his shoulder, he saw her jump over a bin that had been left in the middle of the alley. His eyes widened as he noted how her flesh seemed to hang off her bones, in some places even becoming non-existent. He could see yellow bone show itself to him in the glimpses of light he was rewarded from the buildings.

He snapped his head forward once more and skidded around a corner, narrowly missing her claws as she lunged at him. He was lucky. She could have very much sunk her claws into his side. And then he would be toast. He forced his legs to move faster, trying to get away from this being, trying to save his own life and not fall into the hands of something that knew who he was and might or might not be aware that the vampires who had been disappearing around town were his fault.

And his luck ran out as he came face to wall with a dead end.

He cursed and turned around as quickly as he could, only to be punched in the face. He cried out in pain as he was launched back into the wall, a dull thud registering in his mind. He sunk to the floor with aching muscles and pain radiating around his eye. It was already swollen. He could hardly see out of it.

He looked up at the vampire that approached him with his good eye. She was hissing loudly, ready to spring at him at a moment's notice. Her teeth sparkled, the yellow colour making him gag slightly. Those hungry black holes were trained on him.

Yuugi moved a hand shakily to his pouch, trying to grab one of his precious knives. The thing seemed to notice what he was thinking and moved quicker towards him. Obviously she didn't want to die just yet, but the young man couldn't find it in his heart to feel sympathy towards the woman. Not with what she was.

He got to his feet as quickly as he could, dodging the hand that swiped at him – or tried to. Claws cut through the sleeve of his jacket and sliced his skin. He allowed a gasp to fall from his lips but nothing more. He wouldn't give the thing the satisfaction of hearing him cry out. The stinging was made worse by the cold air that brushed against the fresh cuts. He didn't need to look down to know they were bleeding.

Yuugi skidded to the side and finally managed to wrap his fingers around the handle of one of his knives. He grit his teeth as he pulled it free and without a second thought launched it through the air as quick as he could towards the beast.

It let out a pained screech as the knife sunk into its shoulder. What was expected to happen next would be that the demon would turn to ash and Yuugi would be able to go home and treat his wounds. Say he got attacked while his head was in the clouds or something. He would be free to leave the little alley and maybe come up with a way to explain to Ryou that he was _not_ a serial killer in the waiting.

But that wasn't what happened.

Yuugi watched in slight horror as the vampire looked down at the knife sticking out of its flesh. Black goo squeezed its way out of the cut but that was it. There was no ash or frightened expression. Nothing. What were the fucking odds that the knife had been one of the few he hadn't gotten around coating in silver? He had hoped that if he did choose them, he would have a plan to confuse them then kill them. But no. He hadn't counted on it. In fact, he'd forgotten all about it.

But before he could take another knife – one that would kill the creature rather than injure it momentarily – the thing pulled the knife out and chucked it back at him. It turned on its heels and ran down the alley to the wall of the building. Using its claws, it climbed up onto the roof and disappeared.

The young man let himself lean against the wall. He took deep breaths, the cold air burning his throat but he didn't care about it at that moment. He chanced a look down at his arm and thanked his lucky stars that they weren't deep. Didn't make the pain any less, though, not even the comforting thought that they probably wouldn't leave scars, just scabs.

He momentarily wondered where the vampire could've gone and why it had run away in the first place. Demons of the night didn't see the point backing down out of a fight – of that Yuugi knew. From what he'd seen both first-hand and in movies, they were prideful beings and being beaten by something that has time against it. . . They'd much rather die.

So why had she just gone up and left? She could have killed him easily, he was injured and running low on energy. Pain was radiating up and down his arm, slowly spreading through his body. His amethyst eyes settled on the knife less than a few feet away. Black covered the blade and made bile rise in the back of his throat. He thought he would've been used to seeing black blood by now. Obviously not.

_If only I'd thrown the right knife. . ._

Forcing himself to stand, the same questions running through his head, Yuugi wiped his hand on his jeans and then gently covered his wounds. He stared down at the weapon, and the goo that covered the blade, shining in the light. He pushed the thought to act on his disgust and instead focused on the main question. Where could she ha-

His eyes widened as the thought entered his mind quicker than a bullet being fired out of a machine gun. He grabbed his knife and shoved it in his pocket. He didn't care about the sting of the pain. He just had to get there as fast as he could. He needed to make sure he wasn't too late, that he was still alive.

That Ryou's body was still intact.

It was a long shot, that the vampire would target his friend, but he wouldn't put it past it. Yuugi ran as fast as his body would let him. He tried to make sure that nothing touched his wound and for the most part he succeeded. He didn't pay attention to the gasps of the people who were walking by and staring at him. He didn't have time to care about his appearance. He ignored the exhaustion that slowly began to wash over him, slowing him down. No, no, no! He had to get there, had to be able to save him from what was probably a fate worse than death.

Vampires always seemed to taunt their prey.

It took him about ten minutes to arrive at his friend's house. He was out of breath, hands resting on his knees as his chest rose and fell rapidly. He lifted his head to stare at the door. Wide eyes stayed trained on the wooden door that was open and splintered. A million scenarios ran through his mind, all heading towards the bad but he shook his head, as if that would stop his mind from torturing him.

Grabbing a knife he knew was covered in silver, Yuugi walked up to the house and entered. The inside was much messier than the nineteen-year-old was used to. The sofa had tears and had been pushed up against the dinning table and chairs, most of which had toppled over; the coffee table had two broken legs and was laying on its side; books and other debris littered the floor. The young man cursed and was about to try and move when he heard a familiar voice cry out.

"Stop– I haven't got anything you want! _Go away!_"

Clumsily, the youth made his way to the kitchen where he could practically _hear_ the struggle. He took a few deep breaths and tightened his grip on his weapon. Then, he stepped into the kitchen.

Ryou was currently brandishing a slightly bent frying pan in both hands. His eyes were wide and shock could clearly be seen on his face. It mixed with horror when he looked over at Yuugi and took in his friend's appearance.

"Oh my God," were the only words that fell from his lips.

The creature that was in between the two turned to look at the newest member in the room. Its eyes widened and it hissed violently. The locks of hair fell in front of her face, obscuring some of her gruesome features. She'd lost her heels some time between attacking him and finding Ryou. It was the same vampire as before.

Yuugi only let a few seconds pass before he decided it was time for action. He grabbed the blade of his knife and launched it at her. His hand shot down to grab another. This time, he was prepared.

The beast hissed and dodged the knife, which lodged itself in the wall a foot away from Ryou's head. The thing grabbed the nearest object to it – which happened to be a toaster – and threw it in the young man's direction. The pale man moved out of the way with seconds to spare. He threw another knife, hoping to get the creature in some way so that he could rest.

No such luck.

Soon the kitchen became a battlefield of various objects being thrown back and forth. Yuugi had to crouch to pick up his knifes every now and again, causing him to be more vulnerable to the demon than he had been originally. With his swollen eye, still stinging arm, exhaustion and pain, he wasn't as graceful as he could be, occasionally getting hit by the odd thing. Luckily the hits would only leave bruises.

Meanwhile, Ryou was still in his corner, using his now incredibly bent frying pan to hit anything that came in close range. His hair was everywhere, face frantic with a posture of a baseball player.

Yuugi growled under his breath as he practically ran head first towards the demon, dodging the flying kettle and cutlery. When he was close enough, he jumped and plunger the knife clutched in his grip into the thing's arm. It screeched and shoved him off, eyes wider than before – if that was even possible. However, luck didn't appear to be on Yuugi's side as the knife had been an ordinary kitchen one he'd mistaken for one of his own.

Amethyst eyes scanned the floor to see if he could find his precious daggers among the debris. He moved as quickly as he could, heart beating wildly in his chest. His ears were peeled for any sign that the beast was after him. He was ready to spring should the time come to it. It had probably realised by now that the knife couldn't kill it. It would be angry and wanting his–

A high-pitched scream filled the air.

Scared out of his skin, Yuugi jumped ten feet into the air with energy he didn't even know he had and turned around, looking wildly for whatever had made that noise. It chilled him to the very bone and goosebumps appeared on the skin of his arms. The scene he found made his body freeze and his jaw drop.

He just managed to get a glimpse of pained hellish features before the whole being turned to ash.

Ryou dropped the knife he'd been holding, his body shaking. Though whether it was from fright, disgust, disbelief or adrenaline he wasn't entirely sure. Something was burning inside his veins, making his body hot in the chilly air that washed in from the open kitchen window. He swallowed loudly and turned wide, unreadable eyes to his friend.

". . . Wh-what the bloody Hell just happened?"

Before he had the thought to reply, Yuugi collapsed from exhaustion.

Yu-Gi-Oh!

Ryou stared at the tri-coloured-haired man that was lying on his sofa. He'd treated the cuts on the man's arm – which was now wrapped in a gauze – and had placed an icepack gently on the swollen eye. It had reduced in size but was still a horrible purple colour, surrounded by a sickening green.

He sighed and let his head fall into his hands. He ground the palms into his eyes, as if he could rub the disbelief out of them that way. His breath was shaky and questions kept going around his head. He had no idea what had happened in his kitchen. What was the thing that had attacked him? When he'd opened the door he'd seen a young woman looking scared, begging for him to lend her his phone. Ever the helpful person he was, he'd opened it wider. In a flash she'd changed.

Grey skin; sharp, yellowing teeth; deep veins spreading across her face; claws that were paler than human nails yet seemed to be made of bone. . . And then her eyes. It was as if her eyeballs had deflated and the sockets were left, filled with darkness. No light had been able to pierce inside.

Never the less, he hadn't been able to scream before she attacked him out of nowhere, hissing, growling and crying out.

Ryou shook his head again, pressing his palms even harder into his eyes, giving himself the beginning of a migraine. He hadn't even cleared up the ashes. All he'd done was close the front door and any other doors leading to the outside world.

Somehow, he still didn't feel safe. He had a feeling whatever the woman was would be able to break through glass and wood. He had a suspicion there were more.

He had a suspicion they weren't human.

A groan made him lift his head, eyes now peaking out through the small gaps between his fingers. Yuugi shifted on the sofa and forced his eyes open. It took him a few minutes, probably feeling everything that had gone down not an hour ago, but eventually his gaze focused on a familiar pale face.

For a few moments the two simply stared at each other.

"Yuugi," Ryou started, his face unbelievably emotionless for how he felt inside. He let his hands fall into his lap, leaning forward ever so slightly. "You've got a lot of explaining to do, mate."


	4. Chapter Three

**|[I find it amusing whenever a character uses a frying pan for self-defense, so I thought why not let Ryou have one.**

**And this is probably my least favourite chapter of what I have planned, which will explain why it's so short. I will try to keep the next ones around the 3k mark, or more. I actually had more planned for this but that will just have to be pushed into the next chapter.]|**

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><p><span>Chapter Three<span>

Yuugi let a sigh pass from between his lips as he continued to clean the glass display case. It was a Sunday morning – the one day the game shop wasn't open – and he had agreed to help his grandfather clean up the shop. It wasn't particularly dirty, but most of the time the teen would slip out and use the free day to spend it with his friends and catch up with them. But not today.

Purple eyes flickered up at the door at the sound of the bell going off. He hoped it was Ryou, coming in to talk to him or let Yuugi explain more than he had. It had been several days since he'd spoken to the British male, and even though it had been so little amount of time, he couldn't help but find himself worried.

The expression that had been on Ryou's face when Yuugi had left wasn't one the Japanese man could say he liked. The boy had looked exasperated, tired, and like he both believed and didn't believe a single word that had fallen from the other's mouth. He couldn't blame him, if he was perfectly honest. The idea of a creature like that coming into your home out of nowhere and tearing everything to shreds before trying to kill you was not something you could get used to right away.

He was worried for the kid, though. After explaining, Ryou had rubbed his temples as if he had a headache. Yuugi had tried several times to convince the other to sleep around his house until they could repair the damage of the furniture in Ryou's own, but the young man declined every time. Now that he thought about it, Yuugi was almost completely sure he had just been trying to get him out of the house.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Yuugi?" Grandpa asked as he bustled through the front door with a box in his arms.

The boy's face visibly fell for a single second before he masked it over just as the elder man turned his attention to his grandson. "Nothing, Grandpa. Just thought you were somebody else."

A knowing smile crossed the older man's face. "He's fine. You saw him not too long ago, didn't you? He's probably just got a lot on his plate at the moment."

Yuugi nodded, rubbing at an eye. A week ago it had been watering and swollen. "I guess you're right." He dropped his hand, turning his head and raising his voice as his companion disappeared into the backroom. "But he doesn't live with anyone! What if he doesn't eat properly or stays up all night?"

"You can't try and control the boy, Yuugi," Grandpa responded as he exited the room. "Let him live. He knows what works best for himself."

"I know, I know."

A knowing glance was sent his way. "You say that but I don't think you do."

He pursed his lips and returned to cleaning quietly. The old man chuckled and went back to dusting shelves.

Mind drifting back into dangerous territory, Yuugi began to think back to the vampire. She had known of him. So someone somewhere must be aware of what he was doing and spreading rumours. And it would appear to be someone who was not on _his_ side of what he was doing. He wasn't even sure what it was he was doing! It was self-defence, wasn't it? Kill or be killed.

This could not be good. Even though he had not run into any other one of these... Things since Ryou's home, he was almost sure every time he left the game shop he was being watched by someone, yet every time he looked around he could never see anyone. It unnerved him, and had forced him to recently walk faster with his head ducked and arms crossed over his chest. What else was he supposed to do?

Shaking his head, Yuugi moved away from the glass case to the box where he had placed all its contents, now replacing them. As he crouched, he felt the knife he kept in a sheath in his pocket press against his thigh. Of course, he was always protected. He never went anywhere now without at least one small weapon on him.

He was worried it was going to become a bad habit.

The idea of going back to Ryou's home and giving him one of his knives had passed his mind on several occasions. But what if that only made it worse? He couldn't help but wonder if Ryou would ever recover from the experience or if he would just pretend it had never happened, and frown at Yuugi whenever the boy mentioned it. It was a large possibility, and the short teen couldn't say he was fond of the outcome.

Yuugi was just about to dip into the possibility that maybe Ryou wasn't safe any more because he was almost certain he remembered his front door not being able to function properly when the sound of the bell tinkling above his head captured his attention.

A familiar brunette entered the shop, a soft smile on her face. "Good morning, Yuugi, Grandpa!"

The old man smiled at her, placing the stack of boxes down on the shelf and making sure that they all lined up. "Good morning to you, too, Anzu."

Yuugi offered her a small, shy smile. "Yeah, morning, Anzu."

The girl bounced over as Yuugi stood, placing her hands on her hips as she let her gaze move around the shop. "Are you guys in the middle of cleaning?"

He nodded, placing his hands on his knees as he stood. Looking around, there wasn't much to do, if he was perfectly honest with himself. It would simply take a while to do. "Yes. It's a long and slow process."

Her eyes shifted to him and her smile seemed to widen. "Can I help?"

Waving a hand at her, he tried to remember what he had been doing exactly before his brain had spiralled into the possible outcomes of Ryou's uncertainty. "I wouldn't want to keep you from your day. You probably have things to do."

Yuugi walked over to the counter and slipped behind it, crouching down. He now remembered what he'd been doing. Carefully stacking the last of the games to put in the glass case, he picked them up and stood carefully, turning around and nearly dropping them as he jumped.

Anzu looked at him with the same soft smile, reaching out and taking half the stack from him. "I want to help. That way you can get the work done even quicker."

He watched her quietly. Having not heard her move, she had given him quite the scare, his heart still beating away in his chest. He vaguely heard her question how she was supposed to set up the games, but it didn't register in his brain for a moment. Only when she turned her head to look at him did his feet begin to move once more.

Anzu had been right. The jobs went faster with her help. After instructions from Yuugi, she wouldn't bother him with anything trivial until she'd done her job. She was very precise with what she did – as she always had been. The odd banter was thrown back and forth, Grandpa interjecting time and time again. It would have been the perfect atmosphere; friendly, happy and light. Nothing was forced.

If only one boy could find it in him to concentrate.

On more than one occasion had Yuugi found himself standing still, hands trembling with the strain to keep the game he was holding in the air. His mind had disappeared into the land of no return, leaving his body to shut down where it stood. Fingers snapping by his eyes always greeted him, a concerned face presented in front of him. All he could give was a sheepish smile and an apology.

So many times he had had to decline the offer to go and lay down, to take a break. He assured them he was fine. And in truth, he was. No attack had fallen him or his companions. Music was playing in the background – when that had happened, he wasn't quite sure – and his grandfather and friend seemed to be enjoying a rather friendly chat about the weather the past week.

He stopped where he was. Focused eyes looked over the two of them. It was almost amusing how he had been like them not too long ago. Oblivious. And now, now he was caught up in something he didn't understand. Monsters were attacking him and his friend, he had come closer to death in the past week than he ever had in his nineteen years of life. And to think he was standing here, putting packets of cards on shelves and listening to his grandfather cracking a joke as Anzu laughed politely. None of it made sense any more.

Yuugi placed his hands loosely on his hips, staring out at the shop. The feeling of eyes on the back of his head caused him to look over his shoulder with narrowed eyes, scanning the surrounding area. Everything seemed okay, nothing too much out of the ordinary. Maybe he was just too paranoid now.

"Yuugi!"

The young man snapped his head around, attention immediately on his grandfather. "Yeah?"

The old man just smiled at him. "I'm going to begin cooking lunch. It's time we took a break."

Nodding, Yuugi moved away from the window after giving it one last look, approaching a content Anzu. He rubbed his face with his hands before sighing, smiling tiredly up at her.

"You really seem to have your head in the clouds," she commented, tilting her head just slightly and causing her hair to bob gently.

He laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck embarrassedly. "Yeah. Just have a lot on my mind at the moment."

Looking concerned for her friend, she nodded towards the living room. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Yuugi bit his lip. He couldn't possibly tell more people about what he was doing. Ryou had already been seen with him, and had been attacked in his own home. The idea of Anzu having the same treatment sent panic deep into the boy's mind. He did not want to give another friend a similar fate. It just didn't seem like the right thing to do.

About to decline, amethyst eyes settled on his friend's face. She wouldn't let it go if he didn't tell her. He knew that well enough. And even if she couldn't help him in anything, he didn't have to tell her the parts that she didn't need to know. A white lie. A half truth. It could work if he played his cards right.

With another sigh and a nod, the two of them entered the living room and sat down. Almost immediately, she placed her hand on his knee. He felt his cheeks begin to heat up and forced himself not to think too much on the action.

"What's wrong?"

Biting his lip once more, Yuugi tried to think of the best way to put his concerns forward without revealing the fantastic. "I'm... Worried about Ryou."

The brunette raised an eyebrow, retracting her hand. "Haven't you always been worried about him?"

He fidgeted a little in his seat. It was true, but now... "I know, but lately it seems like he's getting worse."

"What do you mean?"

"It looks like his house was... Broken into recently." Yes. That was the best way to describe what had happened.

Blue eyes went wide and a hand came up to Anzu's mouth before she could stop herself. "Oh my God! Is he okay? Did they steal anything?"

Yuugi shook his head, sighing in relief mentally that she'd fallen for it. "No, it seems like he managed to fend them off. When I arrived they were already gone."

The girl blinked, hand moving from her mouth and fingers curling slightly. "You went to visit him?"

He looked up at her and nodded. "I was worried about him. Again." He looked sheepish as she sent him a knowing look. "He was sick lately! And you know how bad he is at remembering to eat three meals a day."

"You can't mother him," Anzu said, dropping her hand into her lap. "He's told you in the past to let him be in charge of his own life."

"I know but—"

"Really, Yuugi, he's doing okay right now. If he falls ill again or stops eating for several days at a time, then you can intervene." She huffed and tucked her skirt closer to her legs. "He might be going through stressful things that take up his time. Honestly, let the boy do as he wishes."

Yuugi stared at her without saying a thing. That had not been like Anzu. That had not been like Anzu at all. She should have been just as concerned for Ryou as Yuugi was. She should have told him that he was being silly, but still suggest to go and check on their friend later on in the evening. What had all that been about?

"Lunch is ready!" Grandpa called out from the kitchen.

Anzu's demeanour changed and she smiled, calling back, "We're coming!" Standing, she sorted out her skirt before walking happily out of the living room.

The Japanese man was left sitting on the sofa, staring after her in disbelief. Something was not okay. Something was most certainly very, very wrong. And it made his skin crawl.

"Yuugi? Are you coming?"

"Wha—Yeah! Yeah, I'm coming." Startled out of his thoughts, the nineteen year old bolted off of the sofa and jogged out of the living room and off into the kitchen.


End file.
